If you’re like most people, you struggle to find the time for your morning routine. Getting enough sleep is hard enough in our hectic lives, whilst finding the time for a shower and a healthy, nutritious breakfast is usually a luxury left for the weekend. We’re even told that the morning is the perfect time to work out, but who has the time? With just over 42% of all people working out in the mornings (which includes peak times of 6:30 a.m. and later), less than 27% routinely did the same at night. Women were more likely to exercise in the mornings than at any other time of the day; fitness buffs were even more likely to exercise in the mornings than at any other time of the day; and core-related muscle groups were more active in the mornings than in any other time of the day. This is all well and good, but how do you achieve this if you don’t even have time for a bowl of Weetabix?
The first and foremost factor that contributes to an effective morning routine is adequate sleep. Sleeping enough can leave you feeling refreshed and mentally healthy when you wake up the next day. In contrast, if you don’t get enough sleep, your morning routine is most likely to be affected, as you feel lethargic and sleepy all day long. Therefore, proper sleep is essential for an effective morning routine. If you are having trouble sleeping, it is imperative to take steps to resolve the issue. This can include consulting a doctor, using a better mattress (see Best Mattress Australia for reference), and eating a healthy diet. Taking these steps will help to ensure you are getting the sleep you need to have an effective morning routine.
The second factor that needs to be kept in mind is a nutritious and healthy breakfast. Skipping breakfast could affect exercise sessions. Breakfast calories are lower in fat and higher in carbs than post-workout time meals; therefore, skipping breakfast served to maximize the amount of calories burned during the entire workout session. But beyond that, skipping breakfast also leaves people feeling less full, potentially causing an erosion of muscle tissue and an overall sense of being less energetic. Skipping breakfast also made people more likely to snack on unhealthy foods throughout the day. For most people, however, eating too soon after sleep can cause digestive issues, so it can be a struggle to find the perfect time to eat in the morning before work or school.
So how do you optimize your morning routine? For most people, a solid six to eight hours of sleep is more than enough to give them the desired results and the energy to start the day right. If that’s not possible, then it’s important to make sure that the sleep is spread across the day as a series of naps. This will ensure that the body has time to rest, reducing the “burnout” effect and improving efficiency.
To improve your chances of finding the time for a healthy breakfast, the key is organization and preparation. Start by organizing your kitchen cupboards so that you have one or two cupboards dedicated to breakfast foods. If you don’t have space for this, consider frameless vs. framed cabinets, as one may give you more space than the other for those tall cereal boxes. Being organized will save you from having to search high and low for your breakfast cereal. Once you’re organized, consider preparing something the night before. Whilst your dinner is cooking in the evening, make yourself a bowl of yoghurt and fresh fruit, cover it and pop it in the fridge ready for the morning. This will give you more time to physically eat in the morning, setting yourself up for a better day.
When it comes to actually scheduling your morning workout, you can get a lot of guidance from personal development blogs like Morning Upgrade. In any case, there are a few key things to keep in mind. For starters, it’s generally best to include two high-intensity bursts in addition to your low-intensity routine. Ideally, your high-intensity burst should come about 30 minutes before you plan to eat. The low-intensity burst can then happen whenever you get a chance in the day.
Overall, a good morning routine can be hard to find, but with the tips above, it should be easier to find the time for everything you need to do. Now, where did you put your keys?
